The central government opposes recognising same-sex marriages, it said in a filing to the Supreme Court on Sunday, urging the court to reject challenges to the current legal framework lodged by LGBT couples. The Ministry of Law believes that non-recognition of same-sex marriage does not violate the fundamental rights, according to its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the matter on Monday.

“Family issues are far beyond mere recognition and registration of marriage between persons belonging to the same gender. Living together as partners and having sexual relationship by same sex individuals [which is decriminalised now] is not comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, a wife and children which necessarily presuppose a biological man as a ‘husband’, a biological woman as a ‘wife’ and the children born out of the union between the two--who are reared by the biological man as father and the biological woman as mother,” the filing said, according to a report by Bar and Bench.